Tag Archives: El-P

From the press release: “The video for El-P’s “Time Won’t Tell” is inspired by a childhood memory of director Shan Nicholson, who grew up in the “Old New York” during a time when necessity often bred creativity. This video depicts … Continue reading →

Last night, El-P announced that Definitive Jux will soon go on hiatus, and that he plans to step down as its artistic director. Acknowledging industry rumors portending his label’s imminent demise, the co-owner, rapper, producer and symbol of one of … Continue reading →

It was only a matter of time. Vast Aire, Cage and El-P have traded barbs all summer on their respective MySpace pages. Now, Vast Aire has finally responded with a Cage dis, “Battle of the Planets.” The “video” for the … Continue reading →

In the past two months, Brother Ali and El-P stormed the Billboard album chart, scoring top 100 debuts in their initial weeks.

El-P’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead landed first week sales of 11,000 upon its March 20 release, good for a number 78 showing. Brother Ali’s The Undisputed Truth also did well, moving 10,781 copies and hitting number 69 upon its April 10 release. Brother Ali’s success is even more surprising considering it got a fraction of the press attention afforded El-P’s opus. But hey, you can never discount those Rhymesayers fans.

"UH OH… THIS WASNT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN," wrote El-P on his MySpace blog. "ISWYD has entered the BILLBOARD top one hundred at number 77. of all albums of all genres. something is happening out there."

March 2007 belongs to El-P. Whether it’s for getting into that silly beef with Rawkus, drawing rapturous acclaim for his brilliant I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, or debuting his Abu Ghraib-inspired video for "Smithereens (Stop Cryin’)" on the New York Times website, El Producto has been all up in the national conversation.

If you get El-P’s MySpace bulletins, then you must have turned green with envy from reading tales of sold-out shows in New York, Austin, Miami and San Francisco. "Well god damn. every show sold out. every show off the motherfucking charts. sf burned to the floor boards last night. sold out crowd on a sunday night. something is happening here, and it feels good," he wrote on a recent post.

But after a quick trip to Europe, he’ll return to North America for an extensive tour. He toured for nearly a year and a half in support of 2002’s Fantastic Damage, so it’s certain that everyone who wants to see him will get their chance. No word on who will support him as a show opener, but Aesop Rock held him down on recent dates.

While you mull over that sloppy-ass Super Bowl game, consider another event of magnitude — a new El-P album! After a five-year hiatus that saw him carefully navigating Definitive Jux through backlash criticism (S.A. Smash, anyone?) and a tentative comeback (thanks to Cage and the Perceptionists), Jamie Meline is ready to step back into the spotlight. His new album, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, is set for release on March 20, and it features a doozy of guests, from Trent Reznor and Cat Power to Def Jukkies Aesop Rock and Camu Tao. A teaser single, "Everything Must Go," has been spinning across college radio stations for weeks. And though it sounds like vintage El-P — his production style is as familiar as the RZA’s at this point — it doesn’t sound as weird as you might expect.

El-P will perform a handful of tastemaker shows when the album hits stores, including an appearance at Coachella. There’s no SXSW dates yet, but I’m sure it’s in the offing. In the meantime, check out the dates below.

Over five years after issuing its first record, a classic double-A side 12-inch by Company Flow and Cannibal Ox, Definitive Jux is poised to mount a major comeback in 2007. One of the most critically-acclaimed underground rap imprints of the new century, Definitive Jux has been relatively quiet during the last two years. In 2006 it only released one album, Mr. Lif’sMo’ Mega, and a slew of Internet-only tracks via its online store The Pharmacy. If the label follows through on its plans, which it announced via a press release earlier this month, that will soon change.